Peer-reviewed article
A quasi-experimental study of parent and child well-being in families of color in the context of COVID-19 related school closure
Alexandra Ursache, Rita Gabriela Barajas-Gonzalez, Samrachana Adhikari, Dimitra M. Kamboukos, Laurie Miller Brotman et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined how COVID-19 school closures affected the mental health and sleep of young children and parents in families of color living in under-resourced neighborhoods in New York City. The research compared families surveyed before and after school closure on March 16, 2020, using identical methods. Parents surveyed after closure reported worse mental health, but no differences were found in child mental health, parent sleep, or child sleep. The findings suggest families of color faced compounding stressors during the pandemic that affected parental well-being.
Key points
- Parents surveyed after school closure reported poorer mental health compared to those surveyed before closure
- No significant differences were found in parent sleep quality between the two groups
- No differences were found in child mental health or child sleep between pre- and post-closure groups
- The study involved 281 families of color with children in pre-kindergarten programs across New York City
- School closure occurred with minimal warning and few resources provided to families for preparation
Limitations
The study measured outcomes at only two time points around the closure event, making it difficult to establish longer-term effects or distinguish the specific impact of school closure from other pandemic stressors. The quasi-experimental design relies on comparing different families at different times rather than following the same families through the closure, which limits causal inference.
Abstract
Families of color living in historically disinvested neighborhoods face a multitude of health disparities which have been exacerbated by COVID-19 and the resulting strategies to mitigate its transmission. School closure, which occurred with little warning and few, if any, resources for preparation, disrupted multiple aspects of families' lives; these disruptions are anticipated to adversely impact mental health and well-being. The current study aims to advance understanding of the experiences of families of young children of color during the pandemic by utilizing a natural experiment design to test impact on child and parent mental health and sleep in the context of COVID-19 related school closure among families in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Data from this study come from an ongoing study of 281 families of color enrolled in 41 pre-kindergarten (pre-K) programs in neighborhoods across New York City (NYC). In NYC, school closure occurred on March 16, 2020, during a data collection period involving phone surveys with parents; the quasi-experimental design allows for comparison of the 198 families who had completed the survey prior to March 16, and the 83 families who completed the survey after March 16, using identical protocols and procedures. Results demonstrate poorer mental health among parents surveyed after school closure as compared to before school closure. No differences were found for parent sleep, child mental health, or child sleep. Implications of this work highlight the need for structural and systemic supports for families faced with compounding stressors as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and related school closure.
Findings the Hub has extracted
Each claim below is labelled by its type of design and links back to this report.
- Intervention
- Natural experiment: comparison of families surveyed before versus after school closure on March 16, 2020
- Population
- 281 families of color with children enrolled in 41 pre-kindergarten programs in New York City neighborhoods; 198 families surveyed before closure, 83 families surveyed after closure
Key finding
Parents surveyed after school closure demonstrated poorer mental health compared to those surveyed before closure